It was strange living on her own in Konoha for the first time in a year—no, almost a year and a half, now. Not that Sakura didn't talk to Sasuke multiple times a day. But this was the longest she had spent in Kumo without Sasuke since before they had started dating. Obviously the summer had been a long separation, but during those months Sakura had had the constant exertion of travel and performances to distract her. Waking up in her and Sasuke's bed every morning was a constant reminder of his absence. Being alone in the apartment, Sakura was reminded of her life when she had first moved to the city. Back when Sasuke was still someone she associated with good music and high school crushes, and an untouchable level of superstardom. When she had met the four boys, she was just getting used to running into celebrities on a daily basis.

It felt like ages ago that he had made fun of her mattress on the floor. They had barely known each other then. Sakura had been thrown into things so fast by her team and fame, a bed frame had been the last thing on her mind. Just having a studio apartment had been unbelievable for her.

By the end of January she would have been living in Kumo for two years. Her life couldn't be more different from those first few weeks, when she was living in the basement of a house owned by someone Tenten knew from dance camp. After a month or so, Orochimaru had put her up in a hotel. Once I'd proved myself, Sakura thought ruefully, thinking back to the long sessions in the studio and with a dance coach. She had written five or six songs in the span of a month, and everything had taken off from there.

In many ways she felt like a completely different person now. The only negative change was that now three weeks seemed like an unbearably long time to go without seeing a certain someone. "You wouldn't have been like this a year ago," Sakura said sternly to herself as she brushed her teeth one morning, a week after Sasuke had left. "Get a grip." In the scheme of things, this wasn't long at all. She never wanted to be the kind of person who depended on their boyfriend for everything. She was perfectly independent on her own, and she could enjoy life without Sasuke at her side every second.

Now she could be more productive, too. No distractions at night or the early morning. She had music to work on.

Which was why Sakura went into the Hidden Sound studios at seven-thirty the next morning to experiment with backing tracks for a new song she was working on. She was in the kind of mindset that made time slip away quickly; when Sakura was pulled out of concentration by her buzzing phone, three hours had passed.

"Would you mind coming out to my office?" Tsunade asked her.

"Sure," Sakura said. "I'm at the studio now, do you want me to leave right away?"

"That would be great, if you're not in the middle of something."

Tsunade's face was stony when Sakura entered the office. "I could have talked to you over the phone, but I thought it would be better to have a face to face conversation."

"Okay..."

"The trial ended today. I wasn't keeping you updated because I didn't want you to think about it too much." She didn't drag it out any further, which Sakura was grateful for. "Orochimaru's not going to prison, but he's been fired from Cobra," Tsunade said.

"So he can still start his own company?" Sakura asked, her stomach sinking.

"Yes, but it might be hard to find potential investors. The court case will become public knowledge as soon as he leaves the courthouse. You can rest assured I'll be contacting acquaintances at various news outlets."

"But he still goes free with no consequences? There were multiple testimonies, did it really not affect anything?"

"There was a settlement with a few other past clients. He has a sum to pay out to them. And to you personally, regardless of our earlier agreement with Cobra. But no, other than that..." Tsunade tossed her pen to the side. "It's not what I wanted. But prison was always a long shot, considering he didn't technically do anything lasting or physically provable. As I say all the time, what a snake."

"This is better than nothing, though, right?"

"That's for sure. I'm going to try my hardest to sully his name as strategically as possible. He won't want to go back to court after this, so I can say whatever I want."

"You don't need to do that alone," Sakura said. "I can speak out, too."

"You can speak out tastefully. I'll do the work behind the scenes," Tsunade said. "Going to court was what we needed to make this official and believable. When people know you testified against him, they'll immediately be on your side."

"Right," Sakura said. It still made her slightly uneasy that Orochimaru was still out there, free of responsibilities now.

Tsunade neatened a stack of papers with decisive hands. "How about we release a song in the meantime?"

"What? You mean, like, soon?"

"This month. What I had in mind was the one you sang in Ame. It's practically finished, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but I figured I would wait until it was time to release singles. I don't have nearly enough stuff for a full album yet..."

"I'm not pushing for a full album right now. People have been clamoring for that song since Ame."

"But I won't be putting out another album for the foreseeable future. Wouldn't this be kind of unorthodox?"

Tsunade arched an eyebrow. "Is that a problem? I'm an unorthodox woman."

Sakura shook her head, amused. "I just didn't expect it."

"Do you like the song? Are you proud of it?"

"Yeah."

"Great. I'll book you in for a recording session next week, and we can do a quick turnaround. Assuming you're okay with that?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," Sakura said.

"Excellent."

"Do you think we could do a stripped down arrangement? Not too much production?"

"You just tell the nice people in the booth what you want, and I'll make sure no one steps in. Unless it's God-awful, which I highly doubt it will be." Tsunade smirked.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

"Alright, I think that's all I had to tell you." Tsunade glanced at her desk and Sakura made to get up. "Oh, wait—"

"What?"

"You're invited to Karui's December Party," Tsunade said, holding up a large, glittery card.

"December Party?"

"Only the biggest event of the month," Tsunade said dryly. "She has a bunch of celebrities over to her mansion and hosts a night of expensive destruction."

"That sounds...Not appealing."

"I'm sure it's a good time for young people. I'm too old to understand it now."

"Are you saying you used to party?"

"I took advantage of my youth, I'll say that."

Sakura snorted. "Wow."

"I want you to go to Karui's party," Tsunade said. "I won't force you, obviously, but I think it would be a good idea."

"Seriously? Why?"

"One, it'll show that Orochimaru's trial didn't have a negative effect on you. He's been in the news and people will be scrutinizing your reaction. Two, it'll be somewhere for you to show up without Sasuke."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you should get out and have some fun while he's away. I don't want you to disappear when he goes out of town. You should have your own life."

Sakura frowned at her and considered it. "This isn't going to become a regular thing, is it?"

"No," Tsunade said. "I'm really not trying to manipulate you into going to society functions. I just think it would be good for you."

"Fine. I'll go this time. But that's it."

"It's all up to you," Tsunade said. "And it doesn't have to be this, either. There's an opening for a new bar in West Oto happening next week, you could show up at that."

"No, I'll go to the party," Sakura said. She couldn't help being curious.

"I will RSVP in a timely fashion, then," Tsunade said with a smile.

"Why don't you come with me? I'd like to see you at a party like that."

"In your dreams."

The day of the party, Sakura settled on wearing heeled boots and black jeans with a nice top. Tsunade had been right; it felt good to go out on her own. Ino was furious that this was the weekend she'd chosen to visit her father in Konoha, because she had also received an invite. "I'd kill to have her apartment," the blonde had said.

Sakura arrived in a queue of cars and was welcomed into the penthouse by a doorman wearing a gold suit and top hat. No one could say Karui was careless with her party planning. Staring at the soaring ceilings and elaborate furniture, Sakura realized that she and Sasuke could have been living like this. She had no desire for it, didn't envy Karui her gold-plated fireplace or marble staircase, but she had never considered that this lifestyle was easily in her grasp now. Sasuke and the band lived modestly considering their monetary worth, especially considering the four of them (well, three now) still lived together. Sakura had never stopped to think about how rare that was.

She didn't judge people for this lifestyle, but didn't want it for herself.

This was probably the pinnacle of celebrity status. Sakura recognized many of the people around her from years of following popular music. Some waved to her, or called her name, or hugged her. Many of them she'd only met once before (or never). A year and a half ago, this wouldn't have been in the realm of possibility. Sakura wondered if she would always be both flattered and uncomfortable with the attention.

She sipped wine from a crystal glass, momentarily left alone after an hour because the doors to the living room had opened. The music blared around her; it looked like the dance floor, which had taken over the high-ceilinged living room, was full to capacity. Behind her were the doors to a huge balcony, heated by flaming lamps that gave the whole place a reddish glow.

"You've gotta be Sakura Haruno." Sakura turned to find a pale-haired guy standing next to her. He held out a hand. "Suigetsu. We've never actually met. Pink hair gave you away."

He was a rapper, but Sakura had never been a big fan of his music. "Ha, yeah it tends to do that," Sakura said. "It's nice to meet you."

He pulled her into a hug from the handshake, which set her on edge even if it was meant to be a nice gesture.

"How will Sasuke feel about you being here alone?"

You've got to be kidding me. She frowned. "I really don't think he'll care."

"Even with other guys here?"

"He's not really the jealous type, so no."

"Really? I always had him pegged as a guy who'd be protective."

"I'm sorry, why are we talking about this? I don't know you at all."

"Sorry. I guess I'm just surprised you're here alone."

Sakura laughed humorlessly. "I guess I'm just surprised you decided private relationships were fair game for small talk. Sasuke won't care that I'm here because there's no one for him to be jealous of."

There was a loud laugh from next to Sakura, and she realized Karui was right there. "Shut down, Suigetsu," she said. "Take your skeevy moves somewhere other than my house."

"I'm sorry," Suigetsu muttered. "Look, you're both really hot. A guy can't help himself."

"He sure as hell can if he knows what's good for him," Karui said. "Go sober up and don't come back until you realize that Sakura's not Sasuke's property." She pointed imperiously toward the deck and Suigetsu followed her instruction without a word.

"God, we know that we're really hot," Karui said, looking irritated.

"Is he always like that?" Sakura asked, frowning.

Karui rolled her eyes. "He's worse when he's drunk, but yeah. Classic bighead. I try to slap him around as much as possible when I see him. But what can you do, right?"

Sakura sighed. "It's so gross."

"You're so cute. I'm not gonna lie, Sakura, I was jealous when you started dating Sasuke. But you're both hot. Can't blame you. Plus he's not my soulmate, and he's probably yours. You know what I'm saying?"

"Um, yeah. I don't know if—"

"Shh. He is." Karui smiled. "Come on, go dance, enjoy my party! I spent a fuck-ton of money on this shit. Try finding a hundred gold champagne flutes somewhere else. I gotta go find my boyfriend." She disappeared back into the crowd, and Sakura was left slightly amused despite the conversation with Suigetsu. She had heard ridiculous stories about Karui's taste and behavior, but she really was kind. And badass, when it came to it.

Sakura moved toward the dance floor and found herself in conversation with Konan, a singer she had collaborated with for a song on her album, but who had always been intimidating (at least before Sakura was selling out stadiums of her own). This was one benefit of fame—being able to approach your idols and have a conversation like equals.

"How are you holding up? We haven't talked in ages," Konan said.

"Oh, I, um..." And yet the shock of this still hadn't gone away. "I guess I've been busy?"

Konan looked amused. "You know if you ever want to talk about anything, you just have to call. I know I'm probably ten years older than you, but look at it like a sibling relationship. Without the argumentative side."

Sakura laughed. "I will." She resolved to reach out to more people. She had Sasuke, and Ino, and everyone from home, but maybe it was good to get close to other people in this particular world. These women, more than anyone else she knew, could really understand the stranger aspects of her life.

The next morning found Sakura, mercifully not at all hungover, back in the studio to work on the track. Tsunade had given a loose deadline for two weeks from that day, which would mean the song went out just before New Years' Eve. Sakura had finalized the lyrics; she was satisfied with the song on paper. Now it was time for the recording, which had the potential to take a long time. She was working with a great sound team, who were patient enough to let her record several different styles.

"Let me know if this is taking too long," she said after stopping halfway into a take. She'd been experimenting with piano as well as guitar, and wasn't at all used to this relaxed of a studio session. For her album, it had been quick, controlled sessions with at least ten people in the room instead of three.

One of the guys in the booth looked at her like she was crazy. "We're getting pretty good pay for ten hours of work. We're just here to do whatever you need and to make sure you sound good. Play around as much as you want."

"Right," she said with a grin. "Thanks, anyway." They laughed.

It was past eight when Sakura finally left the studio, exhausted but happy, and promptly ran into Kakashi in the hallway. She had forgotten that he must have an office somewhere in this building.

He was carrying a magazine folded open to an article about Firestyle. "Doing some reading for pleasure?" Sakura asked with a smile.

"Of course," Kakashi said, amused.

"That's an old picture, right?" Sakura scrutinized the photo of the four of them. Naruto had a buzz cut, which clearly dated it a few years.

"It wasn't an exclusive. I'm doing some fact-checking before it's published." Kakashi looked at the photo, amused. "The magazine's trying to play it off as a retrospective since they didn't get any new shots. Not Naruto's finest moment in terms of hair."

"I'm surprised you didn't veto the haircut."

"I try not to get involved with that kind of thing. Though I did make them get haircuts after I first met them. You can imagine what they looked like, living in a garage."

"Well, that probably helped get the support of teenage girls. Were you anticipating that? I'm just curious."

"It wasn't completely accidental," Kakashi said after a pause. "Even I couldn't ignore the sellable visual aspect."

"I don't think anyone could," Sakura said.

"It wasn't my proudest moment," Kakashi said. "Sasuke would kill me if he knew I got them interviews and press for their looks alone. If the four of them weren't good-looking, they'd still be playing dive bars in Oto."

"Sasuke's naïve if he thinks he's famous just for his guitar-playing," Sakura said. "I think he knows."

"Well, at any rate, those first few months still make me feel guilty. I played that angle hard to get that first album deal."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "And they'll still thank you for it. Say all you want about your marketing choices, I know you keep them modest. And healthy. Isn't that what a good manager is supposed to do? And keep them famous, I guess."

"You really are wise beyond your years, Sakura."

Sakura shrugged. "You didn't get them that slot in Ishi just to set me up with one of them, did you?"

"And now it's obvious you're spending too much time with Tsunade." Kakashi smiled.

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "You haven't answered the question. It would've been a good marketing move."

He sighed. "I don't stoop to the level of orchestrating publicity relationships. So no, I didn't intend to set you up with any of them. I knew very little about you as a person. But I had a good feeling about the whole arrangement."

Sakura considered his hard-to-read smile. "Interesting."

Kakashi watched her, looking amused, and then frowned. "You and Tsunade could easily be a lethal duo. I'm a bit worried for your rivals in the future."

"Oh, come on," Sakura said. "That's ridiculous."

Kakashi laughed. "It was meant to be a compliment. And now I'm sorry to say I have to abandon you and go help out a client. That's the real reason I'm down here so late."

"Yeah, of course. It was good to see you."

"It's always a pleasure to talk to you, Sakura," he said with a smile. "And you have my thanks for everything you do for Sasuke."

"What?"

"You've opened him up and he's a better person for it."

"He's helped me, too."

"I've no doubt he has. But this is coming from someone who's seen him over the past four years. He wasn't in a particularly great state before you came along. I know you both are good for each other."

"And you say you didn't set us up."

"I did say I had a good feeling about it." Kakashi smiled again and then disappeared into one of the recording studios.

"We finished for the day, then?" Kiba asked.

"I'm happy with it," Temari said. "Sasuke?"

"Aa." They had just finished recording two tracks for the four-song collaboration. A few more days in the studio, and the songs would be finished. Sasuke yawned. They had been in the same room for nine hours, and had extended their time in Suna by more than a week. Kakashi had flown out a few days previously, approved their progress, and promptly gone back to Kumo. Sasuke had been jealous.

"Are you and Sasuke the unofficial leaders now?" Kankuro asked his sister.

"No, we were the brains behind this song, idiot," Temari said. "So by default we're in charge of this one. You're playing two chords."

Naruto chuckled, and even Gaara smiled. "It's clearly taking a while to get used to working with four other people."

"You're telling me," Temari said, examining her nails. "No offense, you guys are great, but today was long. We need, what, three more days to turn these two around?"

"Yeah, that'd be enough. We should've asked the other sound engineer to come in today," Shikamaru said.

It was always strange to write songs with different people, Sasuke thought. Usually songwriting with his three bandmates was difficult in predictable ways. For the past few weeks, seven people (some of them vaguely combative) had been giving input on the material. Still, it made the process interesting in new ways.

"What time is it?" Naruto asked, yawning.

"Almost eight," Temari said.

Sasuke calculated the time in Kumo, as he always did. Around six. Sakura had said she had a full day of press obligations. She was releasing a new song sometime this week, and was occupied with various events.

"Let's get out of here," Kiba said, standing up.

They all gathered instruments and bags and headed out to the parking lot. Sasuke and his bandmates were staying in a house near the studio.

"Have you talked to Sakura today?" Shikamaru asked Sasuke when they were all back in the rented living room.

"No, why?"

"No reason. Ino was telling me she's got a song coming out."

"Shikamaru's trying to figure out how needy you are. If you call Sakura every day, it's okay for him to call Ino every day," Kiba said, smirking.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever, man." Kiba grinned. "I'm going out for a drink. Anyone want to come?"

"I can't, I told Hinata I'd call her at eight-thirty," Naruto said.

"God, you're all so fucking domestic now," Kiba said with a sigh. "Come on, Sasuke..."

"Not in the mood."

"I'll come," Shikamaru said. "If you shut up."

The two of them left. Sasuke realized as soon as the door closed that he should have gone with them to distract himself. He'd texted Sakura asking about the new song, but she hadn't responded. They hadn't talked on the phone in three days, which was the longest they'd gone without speaking since the summer. It was ridiculous that breaking that record was so hard. But there it was.

Sasuke turned on the radio and switched to a random rock station. Anything to get his mind on something else.

"We're gonna switch it up a bit and play some Sakura Haruno. This girl's hot right now and 98.1's coming along for the ride." Jesus Christ.

"Hot in more ways than one," another one of the hosts said.

"You're telling me. I don't think anyone's been more jealous of Sasuke Uchiha than they are right now. That dude's gonna have a good Christmas, let me tell you."

Naruto sniggered and Sasuke hated him.

"They're both gonna have a good Christmas," the other guy said. Sasuke was fuming.

"Dude," Naruto said, cackling.

"Shut. Up," Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

"Oh yeah. Anyway, here's 'Go Again' by Sakura Haruno. I'm not into pop but this is sick."

The opening chords of the song came through the speakers, along with Sakura's voice instead of the two obnoxious radio hosts. And despite wanting to think about something else, Sasuke left it on.

"Turn it up, this is amazing," Naruto said.

Sasuke glared at him, still annoyed about his earlier behavior, but turned up the radio. Then his phone started ringing. With a jolt, he realized it was Sakura.

"Hey, I just wanted to call," she said. "I've been so caught up in everything."

"Thought you were busy all day," Sasuke said.

"The publicity stuff finished early. Where are you? I can hear—Oh my God." She'd obviously identified the song that was currently playing.

"It's the radio."

"Wow, that's weird."

Sasuke smirked. "It's really good."

"Thanks." She sounded happy. There was a pause between them for a moment. "How's the writing going down there? I know I asked that three days ago."

"Still going well. We're wrapping it up."

"Well, don't come back in a hurry. I'm enjoying the solitary life here." There was a laugh in her words.

"Tch. What have you been doing the past few days?"

"Oh, the usual. Meeting up with a lot of mysterious men."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and her resulting laugh was a clear sign that she was imagining his body language accurately.

"I love you."

"I'll see you soon."

Only a few more days, and then he would be home again.

A/N: Not quite at the end yet :)